Monday, April 11, 2011

Last Week :(

Boo-hoo!! I woke up this morning and realised it would be my last week as a Financial Aid Officer at the University of Ottawa. With that came the realisation that I would no longer have to deal with some situations that seem to be reserved strictly for the Financial Aid and Awards Services.

Bizarre cases that would surely get me fired if I discussed them on such open and public forums such as the likes of my blog. It got me to thinking that as much as I dispised the complainers and the whiners, they will be missed.

I will also miss my very specific students that I have come to love, like K**** K**. Oh how very special you were with your Ipod, your pearls, your Gucci, and your "desperate financial need". Sell your crap, and you can afford life outside your world of designer frames and brand clothes. Seriously. Jeez.

At first I was hesitant about taking up the job offer, question of not wanting to switch over from administrative to academics but then I thought about all - AAAAAALL- the crises that would be avoided in a more peaceful setting. No more crazies from the street begging us for cash, no more parents calling to scream at us that there kids didn't receive their OSAP funding and then are all surprised when I inform them that their kid dropped out two months ago. You know, common situations like this one:

"Hi, I'm like confused a bit. My mom like told me I had some paper to pick up about like some OSIP thing, like...i don't know."

"You mean you want to pick up the loan you applied for called OSAP, not OSIP?"

*Student giigles* "I guess, like my mom's a bitch so I don't know. I'm 25 and threw a tantrum so I was like not paying attention, you know?"

Yay! Situations like THOSE are not to be seen anymore starting next Monday. What a relief. Hopefully this will not happen:

*Monday morning, just started my new job and student walks in*

"Like O-M-G, you're the guy from Financial Aid. How odd!"

"Hi, how can I help you?"

"Well, like you know, the University is threatening to kick me out because, i don't know why, like my OSIP was never given to me. So like, my tuition is not paid for. Totally douche-bag of them! Ugh"

"It's OSAP, not OSIP. Let me check your file"

*i check her file, multiple e-mails were sent to student to pay tuition or else she would be kicked out. I return my attention to the student and sigh to myself.*

"You were sent several e-mails to pay tuition or else you would be kicked out. Do you check your Uottawa webmail?"

"O-M-G, no i don't. I didn't even know that existed. I'm like totally screwed. FML. Is the webmail related to the sperm whale?"

Situations like these sound absurd. They happen. Often. Now I don't even know what my new job really consists of. Hopefully I will have my own office with a name tag by the door. That would be awesome. I would probably close the door and the blinds and just start spasting like Michael J. Fox without meds. Oooh that was harsh. I went there.

On that note, I will miss my collegues so much and the fun times we have around the office. I'll miss the comic-reliefs like Alain, Anne, Linda and Lucie. I'll the miss the hardworkers and the gatherers such as Alice and Margot. I'll miss my lunch buddies such as Marie-Claude and Andrée. I'll miss my young'uns who work and study: Danika, François, Fred, Immacula, Nadine, and Stéphanie. I'll miss my bestest buddy and bus partner Sonya. I'll miss the addictive laughs of Karine and Yolette. I'll miss the dead-on answers of Suzanne and Sylvie and the generous help from my scholarship counterparts Anna and Annie. I'll miss the dedication and organizational skills of Diane G. and the many recipe ideas from Diane P. I'll miss the general laid-back atmosphere of the Financial Aid and Awards.

I will not miss the students, the location, nor the ventilation (or lack of).